


Growing

by NeverAndAlways



Series: The Winchester Family [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Birth, Childbirth, Discussion of Abortion, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Gen, M/M, Mpreg, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sam, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-20 05:35:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2416784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverAndAlways/pseuds/NeverAndAlways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to 'Ours' (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1969404#main)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"Oh."

That was how it all started: just one little word. Sam was standing in the tiny bathroom at Bobby's house. In his hand was a flat piece of plastic, and on that piece of plastic was a little blue '+'. He stared at it.

"Hey, didja fall in?" Gabriel's voice came through the door. "You've been in there a while."

Sam mechanically crossed the bathroom and unlocked the door. It creaked when he opened it, which seemed appropriate. Gabriel had been leaning on it; he staggered a little and tried to make it look dignified. "What's the verdict?" he asked in an eager undertone. Then Sam held up the piece of plastic, and his eyes lit up. "Guess it wasn't stomach flu, then, huh?"

"Nope." A grin bloomed across Sam's face and he looked down at the test. "Holy shit, Gabe, I'm pregnant..."

Gabriel stood on tiptoe and kissed his boyfriend's forehead. "Indeed you are. Nate's gonna have a little brother. Or sister."

"Oh god, how are we going to tell Nate?"

"Just give it a little time. Y'know, make sure Junior's gonna stick around, make sure everything's okay."

"What about Dean and Castiel, though? I mean, Castiel will probably pick up on it; I think he knew Dean was pregnant with Emma before Dean even knew..."

Gabriel's grin took on a wicked edge. "Let's let him wonder for a few days." he chuckled at Sam's skeptical look. "Hey, you torment your brother, I torment mine. It's our job as their siblings."

Sam snorted and gently brushed past him. "You're weird." he said affectionately. There was a distinct spring in his step as he walked away down the hall toward their room. Moments later, Nathaniel went thundering past with Emma close behind; Nathaniel was sporting a bath towel cape and paper-towel-tube sword, his cousin brandished a mostly-bald doll, and both kids were hollering at the tops of their lungs. Gabriel stepped back out of the way and watched them gallop around the corner. Part of him was a bit overwhelmed by the thought of three little banshees tearing around the house...the rest of him was so happy he would've broken into song, had he been able to carry a tune. Nathaniel and Emma went charging back the way they came, still hollering; he watched them, and smiled.

~**  ◇○◇  **~


	2. 15 Weeks

Sam was right about Castiel: he'd never seen anyone look so suspicious. Cas clearly knew something was up, although he didn't say a word about it to Sam...until his curiosity got the best of him three weeks later. Sam was in the kitchen rummaging around for something in the fridge, and when he turned around, there was Castiel behind him. He'd forgotten just how intimidating the guy could look, even for someone a head shorter than him. And Cas didn't mince words, either. Before Sam could even draw a breath to speak, he deadpanned: "You're pregnant, aren't you."

Sam blinked once or twice. It wasn't worth asking how he knew, Cas probably wouldn't tell him anyway. What he said instead was "Yes." Cas smiled. But before he could respond, Sam held up a warning hand and added, "Don't tell anyone, though. Nathaniel doesn't know yet, and neither does Dean."

"What don't I know?" Dean ambled into the kitchen with Emma in his arms. The two-year-old had just gotten up from a nap and she was still half-asleep, clutching a stuffed animal in one fist and a handful of her dad's shirt in the other. Dean grabbed a sippy-cup from the fridge with his free hand and looked expectantly at his brother and Cas. "You guys keepin' secrets from me?" he teased. Sam and Cas exchanged glances.

"Sam has something he wishes to tell you." Cas said calmly.

"Oh?" Dean turned to his brother. Well, so much for keeping it a secret...Sam sighed.

"Gabe and I are having a baby."

Dean's grin threatened to split his face in two. "You're pregnant??"

"That's what I just said, yes."

Dean ignored that comment and turned to his daughter. "You hear that, Em? You're gonna have another cousin!" Judging by Emma's expression, she couldn't have cared less, but her dad was delighted. He looked back to Sam. "So when are you due? Have you told Nate?"

"Late July. Up 'till now I've only told Gabriel; I- we wanted to wait until I was showing to break the news to Nate. Or at least until there was no danger of...y'know..." he trailed off, but Dean nodded in understanding. Sam had miscarried once before he got pregnant with Nathaniel; the experience had taken a pretty heavy toll on him. He only ever told Dean, Cas, and Gabriel, and he was stil reluctant to talk about it.

"So everything's okay, then?" Dean asked gently.

Sam nodded. "According to the doctor and the ultrasound. Sixteen weeks down, only..." he paused, and his lips moved soundlessly for a moment. "...twenty-four weeks to go."

His brother's smile came back full-force. Dean reached out with the arm that wasn't holding Emma and pulled Sam into a one-armed hug. Sam tolerated it in much the same way that a cat tolerates being held; he and Dean may have been close, but they were still siblings. It was the principle of the thing. When Dean finally released him, his hands went immediately to his abdomen and the bump that was barely a bump at all. Telling Dean and Cas had been easy...now how was he going to tell Nathaniel?

-

Before Sam could tell Nathaniel the big news, he had to find the kid- and Gabriel, too. Gabriel was easy enough to find (he was in their room, taking a nap), but they searched most of the house before they found Nathaniel stalking bugs in the backyard. His current prey was a big, hairy caterpillar undulating slowly across a stick. Gabriel crouched down and watched it with him until the boy's attention inevitably wandered.

"Hey tiger!"

Nate looked up at him. "Rawr!"

"'Rawr' too you, too. Listen, your dad and I have something important to tell you. Can you stop your bug-hunting and come inside for a minute?"

"'K."

The three of them trooped inside to the living room. "Have a seat." said Gabriel, settling on one end of the couch. Nate climbed up beside him, looking a little suspicious by this point, and Sam planted himself on the other side. Nate looked from one parent to the other.

"'m I in trouble?" he asked.

"No, buddy, you're not in trouble." Gabriel assured him. "We just wanna talk to you." he gave Sam a meaningful look. Sam took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. Best to start at the beginning...

"Nate, d'you remember when your cousin was born?"

"Em?"

"Yeah. Do you remember when Uncle Dean had Emma?"

"Uh-huh. He was all-" he held out his arms to make an exaggerated belly shape, "-an' his tummy hurt, an'...an' then it was a long time, an' then we got to meet Em, an' she was really tiny, and cute, and she cried."

Well, he was basically right. "And do you like your cousin?"

"Yeah!" Nate hesitated. "Sometimes I don't like her. But I like to play tag with her."

Now Gabriel took over. "Well, what would you think if there was another baby in the house?"

Nate thought for a moment. "Uncle Dean's gonna have a baby?"

"No-"

The little boy furrowed his brow at Gabriel. "You??"

"No, Nate." Sam gently interrupted. Nate turned to look warily at his dad; Sam put a hand on his belly. "Your dad is going to have a baby."

"Really?"

"Yep. By next summer, you're going to have a little brother or sister."

Nathaniel peered at his dad's belly. "There's a baby?" he pointed to it.

"Yes, there is. It's still small, but-"

"Why are you gonna have a baby?" Nate suddenly demanded. Sam and Gabriel looked at each other over his head; this wasn't quite the reaction they'd been expecting.

"Well, Nate," Gabriel began. For once, he didn't know what to say. "Uh, sometimes-" but Nathaniel barrelled on.

"I don't wanna brother or a sister! I don't want you to have a baby!!" before Sam or Gabriel could say anything more, Nathaniel propelled himself up off the couch and stomped away to his room. Then his door slammed, and the house was quiet. For the space of a few heartbeats, Sam and Gabe were both speechless.

"That's exactly what I was afraid of." Sam sighed after a few moments. Then he put his head in his hands. "Oh god, Gabriel. Is this the right thing to do? Should we even be having another kid?"

"Hey. Hey, hey, shhh. Don't even go there." Gabriel rubbed his hand up and down Sam's back. "Look at me." Sam didn't move; he gently tapped on his shoulderblade. "Babe. Look at me." Sam raised his head, and he somehow looked much older. Gabriel just smiled at him. "He's five years old, Sam, I don't think he totally understands what's going on. We can talk to him. He'll come around. He just needs some time to think about it. It's gonna be okay, Samoose, I promise."

"But...I don't want to go through all of this if it's just going to make Nate unhappy. I don't want him to think we've abandoned him."

"So we'll talk to him, we'll tell him that. But let's give him some time, okay?"

"...Okay." 

~**  ◇○◇  **~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story so far, please leave a comment- I'd love to hear from you! :)


	3. 25 Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter starts of kind of angsty, but there's plenty of fluff at the end!

Nate spent the next month butting heads with his parents. He was threatened by the idea of an impending new sibling, so he took it out on those closest to him: he threw tantrums, he argued and talked back, and- perhaps the worst of all -he was distant and standoffish with Sam. On the day Sam announced his pregnancy, Nate didn't come out of his room until dinnertime, and even then he gave his dad the cold shoulder. Later he deigned to let Gabriel put him to bed, but he refused to say goodnight to either him or Sam. Sam took this about as well as you might expect- i.e. not very well at all; stress and pregnancy hormones do not mix. He went to bed early that night claiming that he didn't feel well. When Gabriel climbed into bed later, though, Sam was still wide-awake (but trying very hard to pretend otherwise).

"You're not very good at pretending, y'know." Gabriel nestled close against his boyfriend. With his chin resting neatly on Sam's shoulder, he could just reach far enough to lay his hand on the slight swell of his belly. Sam let out a long, shaky breath; Gabriel lifted his head just long enough to kiss behind his ear. "What's eating you?"

Sam let out another breath. "I don't know if I want to do this, Gabe."

"'This' what?" Gabriel propped himself up on his elbow. "Sam, you aren't thinking-?"

Sam was quiet for a long moment. "I don't...maybe. Nathaniel's only five, but- what if he never 'comes around' to having a sibling, like you said? Emma's his cousin, but she's basically a sister to him; do we really need another kid in the house?"

Gabriel snuggled up to Sam again, tighter this time, and wrapped an arm around him. "Don't give up so fast, Moose. I mean, I know it's your decision to make, but I saw how happy you were when you found out you were pregnant again."

"Yeah,  **I'm** happy about it, but what about Nate? We have to consider him, too. If this is gonna make him unhappy-"

"You know what he's like, though, Sam. He'll get over this. And look at you and Dean: I know how close you two are now, but you've told me yourself he was less than thrilled about you being on the agenda."

Sam turned onto his back with an awkward sort of wriggle. Then he stared at the ceiling for a moment. "This is stupid. I feel like I'm in a soap opera."

"Yeah, well, if it were, I'd probably be your long-lost brother or cousin or whatever. And I'm pretty sure I'm not, so..." Gabriel rearranged himself around Sam again. "Anyway, you know I'm right."

"About what?"

"You and Dean. And Nate, too; he's a good kid, Sam. He'll be alright." Gabriel's hand strayed back down to Sam's belly. "You'll be alright. We can work this out; just promise me you won't make any quick decisions, okay?"

Sam nodded wordlessly. Gabriel tucked his head against Sam's. "Love you." he whispered.

"Love you, too."

-

It was a slow process, but Nathaniel did indeed come around. Bit by bit, he seemed to warm to the idea of having a sibling. Although it was mostly small things- asking what the baby would look like, whether it was a boy or a girl -it was a huge relief for Sam. Ten more weeks passed before they knew it, putting them right in the middle of April. One drizzly Saturday evening, Sam was sitting on his bed going through a few boxes of Nate and Emma's old baby clothes. It had been a tough day with both Nathaniel and Emma; the endless gray weather was making them cranky, especially Nate, so it was good to have some peace and quiet. Just as he opened the second box, he heard little feet shuffle through the door. He gave no indication that he'd noticed, though, and kept folding and sorting onesies. Then the mattress dipped underneath him; a freckled nose craned over his shoulder, and Nate's voice inquired, "What's that?"

"Hey monster." Sam smiled. "These are clothes for the baby."

"Baby clothes...?" that piqued his interest. Nate scooted around to sit next to his dad.

"Yep. Some of them used to be yours, and some were your cousin's."

The little boy grabbed a blue-striped romper and held it up. "It's tiny!" he exclaimed. He frowned at his dad. "I was that little?"

"All babies are. You were little, Emma was little, and your baby brother or sister is going to be little, too." Sam took the onesie he was folding and draped it over his belly. At six months, he was starting to really look (and feel) pregnant...he'd already started wearing sweatpants on a regular basis due to his rapidly-growing bump. The one concern was that he had only felt the baby move once or twice so far; when he hit six months pregnant with Nate, the kid had already been doing in-utero gymnastics for weeks. Nothing much to do but keep an eye on it, though. "See?" he continued. "You used to wear these, and now the baby is going to wear them."

Nate wasn't listening: he was trying very hard to fit the romper over his head (after all, it had fit him once, shouldn't it still fit?). After a few seconds of struggling with it, he gave up and laid down on his tummy to watch Sam. He'd managed to fit the neck of the romper mostly onto his head; it flopped down over one eye. Sam glanced at him and chuckled. "I think that's a little too small for you, buddy."

"Is not." Nate insisted. He rested his chin on his folded arms. Sam folded two more onesies and a jumper as he watched. Outside, the drizzle turned into an honest, soaking rain that rattled like gravel on the roof. "When is the baby gonna be here?" Nate wondered.

"Not 'till summer, Nate, remember? It's still got a lot of growing to do."

"Oh." the boy fell silent again and watched his dad count rompers. Wind joined the rain outside, and the old house creaked. Then he hoisted himself upright and sat cross-legged on the mattress. The romper slid off and fell forgotten behind him. "What was I like?" he asked solemnly. 

Sam didn't look up from his work. "When you were a baby?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you were a lot like most babies, I guess-"

"Nooo, daddy." Nate frowned. His dad just wasn't getting it. "When I came out of your tummy."

Now Sam looked up. His son was sitting with his arms folded, wearing one hell of a serious frown (it struck him that that look was the spitting image of Gabe when he was annoyed). And he should probably have expected that question to come up sooner or later, but really, he hadn't expected it at all. And how do you tell a five-year-old about something like that, anyway? "Um," he began, and that was as far as he got, because just then the power went out. Several things happened at once: somewhere upstairs, Emma screamed; there was a loud *THUD* from the living room, followed by a hiss of "balls!" (three guesses who that was); and Nate attached himself to his dad with a vice-grip hug. All of Sam's dormant Hunting instincts came roaring back and kicked his senses into overdrive. He scanned the room with eyes and ears for any hint of movement, any sign that something was in there with them, but all he could hear was the rain and wind outside, and thunder in the distance. He put one protective arm around his son and one hand on his belly.

"Daddy...?" whispered Nate.

"Shhh, I'm right here. Don't move, okay?"

"Why?"

"Just don't move."

"Everyone stay put, I'm comin' around with flashlights!" Dean's voice boomed. Sam hadn't heard that authoritative tone from him in years, but it brought back memories from many Hunts. Moments later, Dean's footsteps came down the hall and into the room behind them. "You two okay?"

"We're fine." Sam answered, although he suspected Nate would think otherwise, and he'd be lying if he said his heart wasn't pounding, too. Looking over his shoulder, he could just make out his brother's shape in the darkness behind him. Dean handed him a flashlight, and he took the opportunity to lean in and whisper, "Anything?"

"Nope," Dean whispered back. "no sulfur, hex bags, nada. Nothin' out of the ordinary. You?"

"Just a scared kid."

"Yeah, there's another one hangin' onto Cas upstairs. Why don't you an' Nate come out to the living room; even if it is just a power outage, I'd feel a lot better with everyone in one place."

Sam turned to Nate. "C'mon, buddy. You heard Uncle Dean, let's go out in the living room."

 

A minute later found Sam perched on the arm of the couch, thoughtfully rubbing his belly. Gabriel was sitting on the couch beside him with Nate on his lap. The only light in the room came from a little battery-powered lantern on the floor, and that light was thin and whitish and threw long shadows across the ceiling. Outside, the rain was still pouring and the wind still tugged at the roof- and the thunder was getting closer. Dean stood at the window looking out. Bobby clomped up from the basement, following the beam of his flashlight. "Well," he huffed, "whatever the problem is, it ain't on our end. Just gotta wait it out." he clicked his flashlight off and went into the kitchen, glancing out the window as he passed. "Real toad-strangler out there." There were footsteps on the stairs, and then Castiel came into the room with Emma. The little girl almost immediately held out one little hand toward Dean.

"Daddy."

Dean turned around. "Hey munchkin." Cas released Emma's hand and she trotted over to wrap her tiny arms around Dean's leg. He reached down and scooped her up. "Heck of a storm, huh?" Emma buried her face in his shoulder. "'s okay, sweetheart, the power'll come back soon."

On the couch, Nate was just as nervous as his cousin. Even with Gabriel's reassurances, his head whipped around at each grumble of thunder. Gabriel, on the other hand, was having a great time. He smiled at the thunder; it seemed to give him energy. "Love these storms." he whispered.

"I don't." Nate whispered back. Suddenly Sam gasped and jumped as though he'd been shocked. Both hands flew to his belly.

"Sam?" Gabriel hovered one hand over his boyfriend's back. "You okay, babe?"

Sam was staring down at the bump like he'd only just noticed it. He gently pressed one hand to it, and smiled.

"Dad?" now Nate was looking at him, too. That seemed to break his concentration; he looked up at his son and boyfriend with an awed smile that could've powered every light in the house.

"You okay?" Gabriel repeated.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, the-" he gasped again, softer this time, and looked back to his belly. "the baby's moving...feels like it's doing somersaults."

Gabriel's smile just about matched Sam's then, but Nate seemed confused. "Moving...?" he peered at his dad's stomach.

"Here, give me your hand-" Nate's hand all but disappeared under his dad's big paw as Sam laid their two hands on his belly. "Feel it kicking?"

"No..." the little boy frowned. Then his face lit up. "Yeah!" he lifted his hand, examined it, then put it back. "That's **weird**. Did I kick a lot?"

"You kicked a LOT. Sometimes I thought you were trying to kick your way out."

"Really?" Nate wiggled around on Gabriel's lap so that he was facing his dad. Now that there was a story to listen to, the storm had been forgotten. Sam reclined as much as he could on the arm of the couch and began to spin his story. He talked about announcing his pregnancy and how Charlie almost didn't believe him, about feeling Nathaniel kick and hearing his heartbeat for the first time, about the day he was born and how tiny he was. No-one really noticed as little by little, the storm moved on. The huge peals of thunder faded back into distant growling, the wind died down, and the pouring rain turned into a drizzle again. The nervous energy in the house gave way to calm. Emma squirmed out of her dad's arms in favor of curling up next to Cas, who was reading by flashlight. Nate's eyes grew heavy. And then, just as the clock read 10:30, the lights all flickered back to life. Everyone squinted at the sudden brightness. Gabriel yawned; he'd been dozing, too. "Hey, looks like we survived!" he smirked.

"I guess we did." Dean said from his place at the window.

"And," Sam added, sitting up and jostling Nate gently, "I think it's way past bedtime."

"I'll do the honors." said Gabe. "C'mon, tiger, let's get you to bed."

Nate reluctantly climbed down, stretched and yawned, and turned to Sam. "G'night dad." he slurred. He reached out to Sam's belly. "G'night, baby." then he trundled away toward his room. Gabriel gave his boyfriend a knowing smile as he stood up.

"Told you he'd come around." 

~**  ○◇○  **~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story so far, please leave a comment- I'd love to hear from you! :)


	4. 38 Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: things start getting a little messy in this chapter!

If there was one thing Sam really hated, it was rain. Especially when they were on the road. **Especially** when Dean was in such a damn good mood. But for some reason he'd volunteered to go with Dean and Castiel to check on a lead for Garth, so here he was. Listening to his brother's QUEEN tape yet again and watching rain spatter the Impala's windows while mile after mile of road rolled away beneath them. And on top of all that, Sam was almost nine months pregnant. At least Gabriel and Bobby were keeping an eye on the kids at home. The last month of pregnancy had been hard enough the first time around, but now that there were two small children in the house...let's just say his nerves were wearing a little thin. He braced one hand against his belly and shifted for the hundredth time to try and relieve some of the pressure in his back and hips; the baby had dropped a week ago, and since then he hadn't really been comfortable anywhere. The leather upholstery creaked obnoxiously. In the front seat, Dean turned the rearview mirror to look back at him.

"How's it goin' back there?"

"Fantastic." Sam said, not even trying to sound like he meant it. All he wanted was to get out of the damn car. Dean must have read his mind, because he chuckled a little.

"'Bout five more minutes, then you can stretch your legs."

Sam ignored him in favor of massaging a knot in his lower back. Even sitting down, it was killing him. "What's this lead we're checking on, anyway?" he asked over the beginning notes of 'Killer Queen'.

"Some locals have been seeing 'shadowy figures' creepin' around." Dean took his hands off the wheel long enough to do air-quotes around the words. Then he shrugged. "Probably just ghosts."

"So what're we supposed to do?"

"Well, apparently they're always gone before you can get a good look at 'em. So what we're supposed to do- hang on -" Dean turned sharply onto a side road, making Sam feel like he might roll across the back seat and out the window, "-what we're supposed to do is just get an idea of where they've been seen. Try and narrow down the search area a little, maybe figure out where they originate from."

"Mm." So it was a simple case, then. A boring walk at the least, a classic salt-and-burn at the most- if it even came to that. Sam pressed his fist into yet another cramp growing in his back, and sighed. A little louder than he meant to, apparently, because Castiel turned to glance back at him.

"Are you alright, Sam?"

"Oh, sure. I'm the size of a house, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks, and none of my clothes fit anymore, but yeah, I'm just fine." he was whining and he knew it, but he didn't particularly care. "I'm so ready to be done with this." he huffed.

"Yeah, I hear ya." said Dean. "At least you're out of the house, though. I was on bedrest at 38 weeks."

"You aren't required to join us on the Hunt if you don't want to." Cas offered. Sam shook his head.

"But I'm here anyway, and we can't exactly turn around and go home, so I might as well. And what else would I do? Just sit here and wait?"

Dean looked over his shoulder at his brother. "Well if you do come with us, Sammy, you gotta promise me: if you feel even one cramp-"

"Dean." 

"Hm?" Cas gestured out the window; coming up on their right was pretty much the saddest little farmhouse they'd ever seen. A cheesecloth ghost hung from its crumbling porch and big green-and-orange eye stickers glared from the window. In front, a garish sign proclaimed it to be " **THE MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN SOUTH DAKOTA- YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES!!!** " A single car sat in its tiny gravel parking lot. "Seriously? You couldn't pay me to set foot in one of those things, not after Mystery Spot." maybe Sam imagined it, but he was almost sure that Dean sped up as they passed.

"Perhaps that's the source of the haunting."

Dean snorted. "Sure, Cas. Real funny."

Castiel chuckled to himself. Then he trailed off and gazed out the window, and the only sounds for the rest of the trip were road and engine noise and the quiet "thwup, thwup" of the windshield wipers.

-

Their destination was less than exciting. Just a tiny middle-of-nowhere town- a wide spot in the road, as Bobby would say. There wasn't much to it besides a few dozen houses, a grocery store, a church, and a couple of other buildings. They parked the Impala outside the grocery store and climbed out, Sam and Dean in suits and Cas in his trenchcoat. It almost felt like going back in time...or it would have, if Sam's suit still fit. He eventually gave up fussing with it and just draped the jacket over his arm.

It took almost fifteen minutes of walking before they found a single person: a smallish woman in her early 20's who startled at the sight of them. They quickly rattled off their story (college students working on an article for their school newspaper) and started asking questions- have you seen anything out of the ordinary lately, any cold spots or smells of sulfur -but she seemed in quite a hurry and gave only short answers before disappearing. So they moved on. But it was slow going: rainclouds blew in and drenched the place, then blew away just as quickly as they'd come, and Sam frequently had to stop and rest. It could very well have been their slowest Hunt ever. Eventually they did encounter a few more people, but none of them were terribly helpful, so they went to find a coffee shop instead.

The shop was a little hole-in-the-wall place that smelled invitingly of tea and coffee and pastries. Nobody inside seemed to give Sam a second glance, which was a relief. He was just sore and tired enough that having to deal with staring strangers would have been too much. Maybe sitting in the car for so long was a bad idea; his back had been a mass of muscle spasms all through the Hunt and it was only getting worse. Had it really been this bad when he was pregnant with Nate? He'd heard that the first pregnancy was supposed to be the hardest, but he was starting to have his doubts. He ordered an iced tea and was gazing longingly at the couch across the room when he saw the barista looking at him. He turned around with a smart remark at the ready, but the barista held up a hand before he could speak.

"Sorry for staring," said the young man, "but you don't look like you're from around here."

"We're not." Dean said, stepping in between Sam and the barista. "We're doing a story for our college newspaper on, uh, geneology." he pulled a notepad and pencil out of his suit pocket with a flourish. "Actually, could we ask you a few questions?"

"Sure. I don't have much time, but go for it."

Sam sighed and wandered away to find Cas. Dean always took such pride in this part of the Hunt, it was best to just leave him to it. He found Cas sitting on the couch and sank into it beside him with a groan of relief. Perfection. The cushions somehow managed to take much of the pressure and discomfort off his hips and even though his back still hurt, it was a welcome relief. It seemed like only a few seconds before Dean appeared with their drinks and a smug grin.

"Any luck?" asked Cas.

"Not so much luck as skill; guess I'm not as rusty as I thought." Dean gloated. "That guy gave us directions to the local cemetary; if that's not a good place to start for a haunting, I dunno what is." he handed Sam his iced tea and Cas his coffee. "What d'you think, Sam? Feel like taking another walk?"

Sam sighed. He was reluctant to leave the relative comfort of the couch but then again, they were here to work and not to relax. So he pulled himself to his feet- and regretted it immediately. A spasm shot up from his hips and through his back and wrenched a gasp out of him. Dean was at his side in an instant.

"You okay?" he reached out to his brother, but Sam swatted him away.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, 's just my back. Gimme a moment-" Sam held onto his belly with one hand and rubbed furiously at his back with the other. The spasm subsided after a minute or so and he was able to breathe again. "I'm fine. Let's go."

-

The cemetary was almost on the other side of town, but Sam elected to walk anyway (or waddle, as the case may be); it had to be better than sitting in the Impala. The sun was out when they arrived, making the quiet cemetary park feel like a greenhouse. They wasted no time in combing the place. Disturbed or exhumed graves, missing headstones- anything out of the ordinary might point to the source of the haunting. Sam, Dean, and Cas had each come prepared with iron, a dagger, a vial of holy water, and a jar of salt just in case, but it was seeming less and less likely that they'd be needed. The place was pristine. The most out-of-place thing they'd found was a carved flower that had cracked off of a headstone. But they had to search the entire place to be sure- and that was proving to be a difficult task. The further they went, the more Sam lagged behind. His back still hurt like hell, and nothing seemed to help. But he was determined not to be a burden- he'd volunteered to come along, after all, he had to pull his weight -so he kept going and tried to at least look busy.

An hour later, almost every corner of the cemetary had been searched, and they'd turned up nothing more significant than some enthusastic weeds. "Alright, I'm callin' it." Dean announced. "This is a waste of time."

"I agree." said Cas, standing up from his inspection of a headstone. "There's nothing to indicate any kind of supernatural disturbance."

"I'll call Garth and let him know once we get back to the car." Dean stuffed his phone back in his pocket and looked around. "C'mon Sam, we're headin' out!" his own voice bounced back at him from the trees, but there was no answer. "Huh. Thought he was right behind us." he cupped his hands around his mouth and called again. "Sammy! Where the hell are you??" still nothing. That was worrying. It was getting late, and pregant or not, a cemetary was no place to be at night. He started walking through the tree-lined rows of graves and peering into each one, but Sam seemed to have vanished. Then he heard Cas give a shout somewhere behind him.

"Dean, I found him!"

Dean hurried toward his boyfriend's voice. The sight that greeted him when he got there was just what he hoped it wouldn't be: Sam was leaning heavily against a tree, supporting his belly with one hand, and there was a conspicuous wet spot spreading from his pants to the grass. Dean stopped short. "Dammit, Sam."

His brother looked up, panting a little. "I'm sorry, I thought-"

"You promised...!" 

"No, Dean. You said it, but Sam never promised. And that is hardly what we should be concentrating on right now." Cas gave Dean a stern look as he helped Sam keep his balance.

"I'm sorry, I just- you should've told me." Dean reached out and looped his brother's free arm over his shoulder. "Let's get you back to the car. How far apart are the contractions?"

"I dunno, I haven't been timing them 'cause I didn't think they were contractions." Sam hissed in discomfort and rubbed his tightening belly. "But I think the last one was ten minutes ago."

"Oh, great. C'mon."

-

They got to the car in record time. Sam was puffing and panting by then, but Dean and Cas quickly bundled him and then themselves into the car and took off. Dean tried very hard to focus on driving instead of how worried he was. Sure, he'd helped when Nathaniel was born- but for one thing, that was five years ago now. And for another, he'd been prepared for that one. This time was different. This time they were on a Hunt, or they were supposed to be, and they were miles away from Bobby's house and not at all prepared to deliver a baby. He jumped at every groan from the back seat.

Things started ramping up pretty quickly. Sam's humming turned into groans, then low screams. Each time Dean glanced back at him, he was sitting with his head lolled back and his eyes closed, and he might've been asleep had it not been for his heaving chest and the way he was clutching at the seat. Fifteen minutes into the drive, he abruptly sat up straight and gasped.

"Sammy, you okay?"

"No. I don't- I'm not gonna make it, Dean."

"Don't say that. You're going to be fine, Sam, d'you hear me? Just hang in there a little bit longer." Dean stepped on the gas. He was already over the speed limit, a few more miles wouldn't hurt him. "How far apart are they?" he asked. If he could keep Sam talking, it might distract them both.

Sam drew a deep breath. "Two minutes. I think. The baby's really low, it- ah, fuck-" he threw his head back against the seat as another contraction slammed into him. "FuckfuckFUCK-"

"You're okay, Sammy. It's gonna be okay." Dean said over his shoulder, and drove a little faster.

~**  ◇◇◇  **~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...


	5. 38 Weeks, continued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: fairly graphic description of birth in this chapter!

"Papa! Papa, look what I made!"

"Just a sec, kiddo."

"Papa!"

"Nate, yer papa's busy. Wait a minute."

"Papa, lookit!"

"NATE."

Nathaniel, Gabriel, Emma, and Bobby were all gathered at the dining room table. They were finger-painting. Or at least Nathaniel was finger-painting; Bobby was watching, and Gabriel was trying to wrangle a paint-covered Emma out of her chair.

"C'mon, Em. We're all done painting, let's go get you changed."

"Nooo, more paint!"

"You don't need any more paint, darlin', you're already covered in it. What are your dads gonna think when they come home and see you all paint-y?"

The little girl dug her red-and-blue splotched hands into her hair and giggled.

"..Yeah, okay." Gabriel sighed and went to get a paper towel. As he was walking back, a noise outside caught his attention, and he changed course from the table to investigate (Emma, meanwhile, took advantage of the distraction and plunged her hands back into the paint). The Impala was just pulling into the driveway as he looked out the window; Nate looked up from his painting at once.

"Daddy!"

Bobby glanced up as well. "Are they back already?"

"I guess so." said Gabriel, still peering out the window. "They must've...oh my god." he dropped his handful of paper towels and ran for the door.

"What's the matter?" Bobby called after him.

"It's Sam. Keep an eye on the kids." Gabriel called back. He ran out and slammed the door behind him.

-

Sam let out a long, harsh growl as they turned onto their street. He had his feet braced against the driver's seat and his hands were dug into the fabric of his jacket.

"Almost there, Sam, just hang on!"

"I can't-"

"Yes you can. Look, we're almost there."

"Should we have called Gabriel, or Bobby?" Cas wondered aloud.

"Maybe. Little too late for that now." Dean yanked on the steering wheel and pulled sharply into the driveway. "We're home, Sammy." he opened his door and got stuck, then swore, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out. Gabriel was already there when he went around to open Sam's door. The guy looked like he couldn't decide whether to be angry or scared or a little of both.

"What happened?" Gabe demanded as Dean opened the car door.

"What does it look like? The baby's coming." Inside, Sam was just resurfacing from a contraction; he shifted around to pull himself out of the car. Dean used one hand to support him and the other to motion to Cas. "Go inside, have Bobby go in the backyard with Emma and Nate. I don't want 'em to see Sam like this." Cas nodded and disappeared. Beside him, Gabriel was helping Sam out of the car and speaking to him in an undertone. Sam didn't seem to hear most of it; all his attention was turned inward. But he allowed himself to be helped to his feet and led inside without protest.

When they got into the house, Bobby and Cas were still ushering Nate and Emma into the backyard. Nate glanced around, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of his dad hobbling through the door flanked by his father and uncle. "Dad??" he squeaked, but that was all he could say before he was whisked outside. And just in time, too- no sooner had the door shut than a contraction knocked Sam off his feet. He cried out and bent double around his belly.

"Need to push...!"

"Not yet, just keep breathing." Dean encouraged.

"I can't, I can't stop it..."

Sam was already well into pushing when they lowered him onto the bed. He pitched forward on the edge of the mattress, legs apart, and bore down hard. Gabriel dealt with his shoes and pants while Dean ran off to find supplies.

"Not exactly how we planned this to go, huh?" he quipped. Sam ignored him; even after the contraction waned he was still tense, arching his back as much as his belly would allow. "Sam, you need to relax. I know it hurts, but you're not doing yourself any favors." he put a hand on his boyfriend's knee. "C'mon, breathe. It'll be over before you know it. Why don't you move back a little so we-"

"No. No, this is good. I wanna stay here." Sam scooted forward a little to perch on the edge of the bed. "Oh god, gotta push again..."

"Go for it. I'm right here, I gotcha." he caught his breath when Sam bore down and the baby's scalp appeared at his opening. "It's comin' fast, Sam, I can see it!"

Dean came back all of a sudden, laden with towels and string and a pair of scissors. He dumped them all at the foot of the bed before climbing up and settling behind his brother. Sam reacted almost instinctively by leaning back against him, and Dean supported him with a hand on each shoulder. Sam pushed again; the effort of it made his legs shake and tore a scream from his throat. Gabriel picked up a towel, scooted a little closer between his knees, and cleaned away as much blood and fluid as he could before the next contraction. "Almost there; you're doing great!" Gabriel grinned up at his boyfriend. But Sam was back to pushing, so he cupped the baby's head with one hand as it slowly emerged. "Keep going...little more..." he let out a triumphant laugh. "The head's out!" then his face fell. "...shit. Sam, hold on a minute, don't push." his hands moved quickly, pulling at something Sam couldn't quite see over his belly.

"What's wrong?" he panted. "Is the baby okay?"

"Baby's fine, the cord is stuck around its neck..." Gabe worked as fast as he could to untangle the cord while Sam panted above him. When it was finally free he barely had time to give a thumbs-up before Sam started pushing again, and even less time to grab another towel before the baby surged forward. He held it up just in time; the tiny, wet creature slid from Sam's body into his hands, and the world stopped. Smiling like his heart was going to burst, Gabriel wiped the baby clean and stood up on shaky legs to hand it over to Sam. "God, Sam, look at that...look what you did."

Sam opened his eyes and looked down at the baby. "Hey, sweetheart." the baby shivered and began to wail, and Gabriel had to turn away for a moment because there was no way he was going to let Dean see him cry. "Gabe, it's a girl. Nate's got a sister."

"Poor kid." Dean joked behind him.

Sam elbowed him weakly in the ribs. "How would you know?"

Dean just grinned. "Kidding, Sam. She's beautiful."

"Yeah. Yeah, she is." Sam didn't take his eyes off his daughter as he spoke. She was still crying, but in a more half-hearted way, as though the world wasn't worth the trouble of really bawling. He leaned forward and kissed her still-wet head. "I know, that was pretty tough, huh? You were really in a hurry."

"Looks like you both got through it okay, though." Gabriel was still smiling. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in to trace one finger along the baby's cheek. Sam winced and let out a little pained hiss.

"Not out of the woods yet." he groaned. "Here-"

Dean took the baby from his brother and held her while the afterbirth was delivered and disposed of and the cord was cut. And then, while Sam was cleaned up and helped into fresh clothes, he cleaned her up as well, and talked to her- and actually had to remind himself not to call her Emma, because damned if she didn't look like his daughter as a newborn. Eventually he handed her back, and by then she was calm with her tiny hands tucked under her chin. Sam nestled into the pillows with her, and Gabe laid down beside them. Dean sat on the end of the bed.

"So have you thought of a name?"

Sam and Gabe looked at each other as though it hadn't occurred to them. "I know you were thinking Isabel...." Sam mused.

"Yeah, but she doesn't look like an Isabel. Or an Abigail." there were a few moments of silence while the pair gazed down at their baby.

"How 'bout Ava?" Dean suggested. "That was gonna be Cas' choice for Emma."

Sam's face lit up. "Ava...I like it." he turned to Gabriel. "Ava Rose?"

Gabriel thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "Ava Rose Winchester."

"That's a good name. I think-" suddenly there was a pitiful sound from outside. Dean recognized it immediately: not quite a whine and not quite crying, but somewhere in between, used by kids when they want something they can't get to. And it sounded like Nate. Sam had heard it too; he was looking worriedly in the direction of the sound.

"Dean, could...could you go check on him? Make sure he's okay?"

"I'll go." Gabe climbed down from the bed. "You two have done enough running around today." he slipped out of the room and was gone, leaving them alone with the baby. Sam continued to gaze at her as though he might never see her again. Dean sighed; the events of the day were finally catching up with him.

"Do me a favor, Sammy?" he whispered to his brother.

"Yeah?"

"Never scare me like that again."

"I'll try." Sam smiled. Nate's voice filtered in from outside, and he glanced toward it. "God, I hope Nate's gonna be okay with her."

"'Okay', are you kidding? He'll be great. You've seen him with Emma; Ava's got nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right."

As if on cue, the bedroom door swung slowly open and Gabriel came in with Nathaniel half-hiding behind him. He gestured toward the bed. "Go ahead, kiddo, it's okay." Nathaniel looked up at Sam, laying in bed with the baby snuggled against him, and he looked very suspicious. Sam smiled at him.

"Hi, Nate. Come on up." he scooted over to make room. Nate looked at Gabriel, then back at Sam, and finally clambered up onto the bed. After only a moment's hesitation, he practically dove into Sam's side and buried his face in his shoulder. Sam let out a soft "oof" at the sudden impact. "Hey, monster. I missed you today." Nate's only response was to snuggle in closer; Sam gently nudged him. "I've got someone who wants to meet you." at this, the little boy raised his head, and Sam angled the bundle of blankets toward him. "This is Ava. She's your little sister."

Nate considered this for a moment. "A sister...?"

"That's right. She's your sister, and you have to be really gentle with her." Gabriel eased himself down onto the bed, sandwiching Nate in between Sam and himself. Nate extended a cautious hand toward Ava. She wriggled and snuffled at the unfamiliar touch, and his eyes widened. "What do you think?" Gabe asked softly.

"Can I hold her?"

His parents exchanged a look over his head, then Sam nodded and sat up gingerly. There were a few moments of rustling while the three of them rearranged themselves on the bed.

"Okay, remember how you used to hold Emma when she was little...there you go, support her head..." slowly, carefully, Ava was transferred from Sam's arms to her brother's. She had looked tiny when Sam was holding her, but now she looked almost too big for the five-year-old. Nate barely moved, as though afraid she might explode at any moment. The room was silent as he took stock of this new addition to the family; he still looked a little disapproving. But then she began to move, scrunching up her face and cuddling blindly against the new source of warmth, and he relaxed, too. It seemed almost like they'd called a truce. Nate leaned in a little closer, studying his sister's face. She reached one stubby hand up toward him and at first he shied away, but then he reached out and touched it, and smiled when she curled her fingers around his. "Hi, Ava. I'm Nate." he whispered. "I'm your big brother." Sam, Dean, and Gabriel smiled broadly. Dean met his brother's gaze, and saw his chest rise and fall in a sigh of relief. But before anyone could speak, a tiny whirlwind came charging through the door: it was Emma, closely pursued by her father. Castiel scooped the little girl up before she reached the bed, and firmly shushed her. Dean looked at his daughter, then at the scene unfolding beside him; maybe now wasn't the best time to introduce her to her new cousin. So instead he mouthed his congratulations to Sam, gestured to Cas, and left the new family in peace.

Gabriel watched them go. As soon as the door closed, he leaned carefully over Nate and Ava and kissed Sam on the temple; Sam returned it with a proper kiss. Gabriel still felt like his heart might burst right out of his chest. Rendering an angel speechless was a rare thing, and yet here were three people who could do just that- and he didn't mind in the least. He'd been known as "Silvertongue" in his time (among other things), but now...he settled back and said nothing, and he was happy.

~**  ☆☆☆  **~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks, thanks for sticking around! If you liked it, please leave a comment; I'd love to hear what you thought of the story. :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you like the story so far, please leave a comment; I'd love to hear from you! :)


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